America achieves both fame and fortune

Chapter 348 The First Oscar Nomination

Hundreds of reporters gathered in front of the Ritz-Carlton Hotel, waiting for the latest Oscar news.

Hollywood's awards season lasts for several months, with countless awards, and the climax is undoubtedly the Oscars ceremony.

The nominees' luncheon was the final prelude.

Hundreds of celebrities and socialites arrived one after another, and Martin, among them, looked like just an ordinary member.

In the banquet hall, he sat at a table with Leonardo, Nicholson, Scorsese, and others.

Few people were interested in the exquisite dishes served at the luncheon.

Martin nudged Nicholson on his left and gestured with his eyes: "Your favorite."

Nicholson saw Blanchett, the lead actress from "Babel," and said, "Meryl told me you were there when she had that conflict with this woman last time?"

Martin eagerly offered credit: "Without me, Meryl would have suffered." Then he asked for something in return: "You'll thank me?"

Nicholson picked up the bottle, poured himself a glass of wine, and handed it to Martin: "Thanks."

Martin shook his head: "As expected, you're shameless."

Leonardo DiCaprio on the right chimed in, "You should thank Meryl's husband in New York."

Martin said very seriously, "That's right, let him thank the famous Jack Nicholson..."

Nicholson didn't care: "You think he doesn't know? Don Gummel knows more than you think."

Martin asked, "Is that Meryl's husband?"

"A sculptor," Leonardo explained, "and also a very famous artist."

Martin said, "I understand."

Those who engage in art are indeed extraordinary; art is a very profound subject.

To achieve something in art, sacrifice is indispensable...

Nicholson lowered his voice and leaned closer, saying, "Let's go to Venice Beach together next weekend."

"You two bastards, aren't you afraid of being shot dead?" Martin mentally calculated the time.

Leonardo said, "That's why I called you."

Martin shook his head: "I don't have time. A friend is having a birthday party, and I promised to go."

"A female friend?" Nicholson asked.

Martin casually remarked, "A girl I saved at Burbank High School, the younger sister of the Olsen sisters."

Leonardo DiCaprio, who had been following the story, asked, "Was that the woman next to you in last year's Coca-Cola commercial, the one who played the 'Holy Maiden of the Coca-Cola Cult'?"

Martin nodded: "It's her."

Natalie Portman, who is also under WMA, walked by and greeted Martin.

While Martin turned to talk to someone, Nicholson gave Leonard a wink.

Bastards are always on the same page, and Leonardo immediately understood what he meant.

When Martin turned back, he said, "It's your friend's birthday, can I join in the fun?"

Nicholson leaned over: "Count me in."

Martin's first reaction was, "You guys aren't planning anything, are you?"

Nicholson shook his head: "Martin, there's something wrong with your thinking."

Leonardo DiCaprio teased Martin: "I always bring you to fun parties, where's your brotherhood?"

Thinking of those two bachelor parties, and since Martin wasn't too worried about the two of them messing around, he said, "Let me ask the master first."

Before the luncheon even started, he sent a text message to Elizabeth Olsen.

In less than two weeks, it will be her eighteenth birthday, and the Olsen sisters will be throwing her a big birthday party.

Even stars of Leonardo DiCaprio and Nicholson's caliber can add glamour to a party.

Elizabeth Olsen's text message came back quickly. Martin glanced at it and said, "Master agrees. Remember to prepare a birthday present for her."

Nicholson replied, "No problem." He pointed to Leonardo, "The task of preparing the gift is yours."

Leonardo stared wide-eyed: "Why me?"

Nicholson said, "You understand young girls' minds."

Scorsese glanced at the three bastards and secretly rejoiced that they hadn't caused trouble on his set.

That cow... never mind, I'll stop thinking about cows. After the Oscars, I'll just slaughter it and make steak, kebabs, and beef stew with potatoes—three ways to cook one cow!

Luncheon host Maggie Gyllenhaal and college president Sid Ganis appeared on stage.

Scorsese reminded them, "It's about to begin."

Martin, Leonardo, and Nicholson said no more, and listened intently to the list of nominees.

After Sid Ganis finished speaking, Maggie Gyllenhaal announced the winners of the science and technology awards.

Although the college is called the College of Arts and Sciences, the latter is not highly regarded, and several related awards are not even allowed to enter the formal award ceremony.

Next, the nomination lists for various awards were announced.

Nicholson looked relaxed and at ease, watching his three silly classmates staring with wide eyes and perked ears, finding it more and more amusing.

He said in a low voice, "There are four people sitting at this table who have won a total of three Oscars. May I ask who they are?"

Martin and Leonardo both gave him the middle finger at the same time.

Scorsese was so angry he wanted to hit someone.

But the three of them were helpless; the other guy had three Oscars!

Martin withdrew his middle finger, but his mood relaxed. Nomination wasn't difficult, but winning was out of the question.

With Leonardo DiCaprio standing next to him as a comparison, he felt that his luck was not bad.

Maggie Gyllenhaal read out the list of nominees one by one, which were then displayed on the large screen behind her.

Soon it came time for the Best Supporting Actor nomination.

"Alan Arkin, Eddie Murphy." Then, Martin heard his own name from Maggie's mouth: "Martin Davis!"

Martin clenched his fist; all his work over the past few months had paid off!

Leonardo DiCaprio and Nicholson bumped fists with him in celebration.

After the list was read out, Scorsese clapped along with Martin and nodded.

Martin smiled, feeling a surge of excitement; after all, it was a rare achievement.

Like Scorsese and Spielberg, and Leonardo DiCaprio next to them, those who enter this industry, besides fame and fortune, naturally also pursue this kind of recognition from their peers.

Moreover, the Oscars themselves are a way to gain fame and fortune.

Leonardo DiCaprio's name was among the names announced in the subsequent Oscar nominations for Best Actor.

He received a nomination for Blood Diamond.

Leonardo just smiled, appearing nonchalant, and he didn't forget to mock Martin: "Look at you, it's just a nomination, why are you getting so excited?"

"I'm not as good as you." Martin's knife was aimed specifically at the bloody spot: "You have years of experience as a runner-up, I don't."

Leonardo was about to glare when the camera turned to him, so he could only keep smiling.

When he came to his senses, the banquet hall erupted in enthusiastic applause again.

Scorsese and The Departed received nominations for Best Director and Best Picture, respectively.

The biggest winners on this nomination list are "The Departed" and "Babel".

The former received 5 nominations, while the latter received as many as 7.

Subsequently, Ellen DeGeneres was announced as the host of this year's Academy Awards ceremony.

Martin didn't like her very much.

Nicholson, semi-retired and with nothing to do all day, is quite gossipy. She asked Martin, "I remember you were on her talk show, and things didn't go so well?"

Martin stated directly, "She couldn't take it. She tried to mess with me, but failed. She said I wasn't cooperating. At the time, I was just a small-time actor."

Leonardo suggested, "How about the three of us go on her show together and mess with her?"

Martin shook his head: "That would only boost her ratings, it's not worth it. She's a lesbian, she's not easy to deal with."

Leonardo DiCaprio said, "Since winning Best Director for Brokeback Mountain last year, the attitude towards homosexuality in the industry has been changing."

Nicholson chimed in, "As long as we white old men are alive, the core of Hollywood won't change."

Seeing the college president, Sid Ganis, about to launch into a long speech, Martin said, "You old bastard, you're just sitting around doing nothing, why don't you run for college president?"

"You don't think it's easy to win the Academy presidency, do you?" Nicholson didn't need Martin's answer: "In recent years, the Academy president's real power has increased. The competition within the Academy has never been open and transparent. To tell you the truth, the competition for the Academy presidency is much more intense and fierce than Oscar PR."

Martin saw Scorsese nodding as well, and knew that Nicholson was telling the truth.

Nicholson added, "Even if actors compete, they rarely succeed. Firstly, actors often have limited time, and most of them are bastards like you and Leo who spend their free time eating, drinking, and having fun."

He bluntly used his two scoundrel underlings as an example: "If you two were to run for college president, how many people would be willing to vote for you? Out of 6000 college members, would you really entrust this position to two scoundrels like you?"

Martin was self-aware: "I'm not qualified enough."

Leonardo DiCaprio said, "Aren't young female models fun? Go do that academic stuff."

Nicholson further stated, "In the Academy's internal election campaigns, can actors outmaneuver those producers in terms of public relations and networking? Warren Beatty and Annette Bening, that scumbag couple, have been competing against each other several times."

He pointed to Sid Ganis on the stage: "And what happened? This old man has been re-elected as president of the academy for the third time."

Martin said, "There are too few actors like Reagan and Schwarzenegger."

Leonardo joked, "You bastard, you wouldn't be thinking of running for president, would you?"

Martin vaguely remembered his drunken ramblings from that day: "No, I'm going to lead an army of beautiful women into Washington, storm the White House, and dissolve the Union."

Scorsese suddenly chimed in, "If you could really do that, you'd probably win the Nobel Peace Prize."

The main course of the luncheon was then served one after another. The Academy has never been short of money, and it certainly wouldn't skimp on a prestigious event like the Oscars. The dishes were quite lavish.

Martin and the other three were in a good mood, eating and chatting.

Scorsese was having a bit of a headache, as his three idiots at the table were plotting to bombard every film studio's dating hotspots.

This made him determined that no matter what project he directed in the future, he would never let the three idiots gather in his crew.

That could really cause a huge uproar.

After a satisfying meal, everyone went to the lobby decorated with an Oscar theme, where hundreds of people took a group photo of this year's luncheon.

(End of this chapter)